Telephone service providers typically employ a billing system to produce monthly invoices based on customer usage of telephony network resources and equipment. Such conventional billing systems typically constitute an amalgam of disparate computer and data processing systems which must cooperate harmoniously in order to produce a great number of customer invoices on a cyclical basis. Modifying such billing systems to accommodate new services and functionality presents a significant challenge to the providers of telephony network services. Current telephony network billing systems are generally unable to support additional billing requirements necessary to expand the scope of services which can be offered by telephony network service providers.
It can be appreciated that modifying a complex billing system that processes tens of millions of customer invoices each month is both a problematic and expensive proposition. The inability to effect such modifications, however, can result in a loss of market share and a reduction in the future growth of telecommunications companies which typically compete for business within a common customer pool. There is a need in the telecommunications industry for a billing system and methodology that can accommodate current and future telephony network service billing requirements. There exists a further need for such a billing system which does not require significant redesign of existing billing system architecture. The present invention fulfills these and other needs.